City Food Tours

Interested in an inexpensive way to explore center city through your taste buds? The Center City Food Lovers Tour makes that possible. For only 29 dollars, you can sample the best of Philadelphia’s artisanal cafés and shops.

The Center City Food Lovers Tour was created by City Food Tours, a New York based company that made its way into Philadelphia in October of 2007.

City Food Tours is the brainchild of author and food expert, Joyce Weinberg. Robert Weinberg, her brother, is the director of the Philadelphia division.

“Everything we do here is completely different from New York,” he said.

In New York, eight shops are visited during the tour, which allows for 10 minutes at each shop. In Philadelphia, three or four shops are visited, allowing for 45 minutes at each shop. The extra time is used to meet with the owners and chefs and experience the food.

The Food Lovers tour is just one of 10 that are offered in Philadelphia.

“We’re constantly adding and choosing shops,” Weinberg said.

In order to be featured on a food tour the owners of the establishment must be on the premises, the food must be hand made, and the business must be socially conscious. Weinberg stresses the importance of visiting these small, artisanal shops.

“If you don’t support local business, we’ll be left with mega marts, and we will all be eating Velveeta,” he said.

Some of the shops featured on the Food Lovers tour include Naked Chocolate Café, Capogiro Gelato Artisans and DiBruno Brothers.

In addition to the shops featured on the tour, Weinberg also recommends Old City Cheese on 160 N. 3rd street for an under the radar brunch, Sahara Grill on 13th and Walnut for middle eastern cuisine, and Zocalo on 36th and Lancaster for authentic Mexican food.

Weinberg is passionate about food and the way it can speak for a city.

“I don’t want cheesesteaks, pretzels, and scrapple speaking for Philadelphia, Weinberg said.

“The right foods aren’t always speaking for the city; it’s usually the lowest common denominator.”

The food tours are a way to open up the food of Philadelphia to a wide array of people while avoiding the tourist traps.

“It’s a great idea for a college student and any local. We bring people to places that they’ve never been or heard of. These are not $100 a head restaurants that you’ll never see again until your parents come to town,” he said.

While ramen noodles, pizza, and even Velveeta will remain staples of college life in any city. City Food Tours can offer some new tastes to your palate and get you off of your campus and into center city.

The Center City Food Lovers tour begins on Wednesdays and run through Sunday. Tickets for this and other City Food tours are available by visiting zerve.com. Visit cityfoodtours.com for information on tours in both New York and Philadelphia.